Speculation: 2020-21 News/Rumors/Roster Thread Part III

[Mats26]

Any update on Vilardi? How's he looking in camp?

 

[MrGuyPerson]

Outstanding post, thank you for taking the time to write it up! Side note, any advice on how a North American hockey fan can watch more European pro hockey? I'm tired of trying of friends trying to coerce me into becoming a European football fan; I just want more hockey.

I wish, but I'm not sure. I know the DEL has an agreement to stream with Magenta Sports(they made a bunch of youtube videos about Tim Stützle like they did one which was like a day in the life of Tim. It showed how he trains day to day, which is how I learned about how great Mannheim's facilities are. They also made a 30 min Draft documentary following him through the draft process, it looks good but its only English subtitles so I haven't taken the time yet.) DAZN might show some European hockey. I think the Champions Hockey League does their own free Streams, but its cancelled this season. Overall DAZN would be my best guess

Edit: I was incorrect I learned how good Mannheim's facilities are because the Champions League made a video in English with Ben Smith giving a tour of the facilities in English haha

 

[Steve Zissou]

Honestly, most of the scouting reports I've seen say Andersson's PIMs were due to him not moving his feet enough. That's the wrong kind, and him continuing to do that will have him in Ontario real quick.

“I think I’m a much better player now than I was a year ago,” Andersson said. “I got all my confidence back that I had before and I’m a quicker player now. I make quicker decisions, and I’m a better skater. And I’ve been doing things right on and off the ice for a while now.
“I’m feeling more mature on and off the ice. It was huge for me to be back home for some time and trying to get back to where I was.
“I think I’m a better player and person now.”

He's still extremely young, just drafted in 2018. Just because he was drafted in the top 10 doesn't mean there aren't parts of his game that needed to be worked on to make it in the NHL. Hell, Yakupov was a 1st overall and we all know where he's landed.

I'm not saying he'll stick, but it's encouraging to see him address some of those issues (that he didn't even see in his game before) in the past year or two. TMac has said he has stood out in camp thus far.

 

[SufferingSelfCreated]

 

[head eyes]

The part of this that makes me the most excited is that you can't put on that much muscle with a back that's on the fritz.

 

[Statto]

Sorry to be that guy, but no the 2nd Swedish league is 100% worse than the DEL. I do not intend to come off as rude, I just want to clarify the north American perception of the quality of the DEL as euro professional hockey league is something that needs to be fixed. To start, historically the DEL has been regarded as lesser than the other top euro pro leagues. From the leagues inception to roughly 2017/2018 that perception was correct. However, 2 factors have actually lead to pretty rapid evolution of the league. First is creation of the champions hockey league(2014). The next is their commitment to adding youth to the league by adding under 23 roster quotas. The Champions League provides slight insight as to how each leagues top teams stack up. The Champions league does not provide an exact insight into the overall quality of the league, but it does demonstrate how the top Liiga, SHL, DEL, Extraliga, NLA, etc clubs stack up against each other. The amount of teams sent is based on the prior seasons final standings. For the DEL specifically the Champions League has provided them a platform to showcase their top tier stadiums, facilities, and attendance to recruit top euro free agents such as the €163 million 18.5k seat(largest Rink outside NA)cologne stadium, the €165 mill 14.5k seat Berlin Arena(Reichel), lastly the €70 million Euro Adler Mannheim Stadium that produced Moritz Seider, Tim Stützle, and while they left for NA before they reached the DEL Draisaitl and Dominik Kahun played for Mannheim's academy.

The main point is last years 10th place DEL team(10/14) beat and lost in ot to Luela the team that finished 1st in the SHL. Mannheim beat and lost to Djurgarden(6th in the SHL and Alexander Holtz team). EHC Munich beat and lost to Färjestad BK(2nd in SHL). Meanwhile only 1 of 4 Liiga teams advanced to playoffs while all 3 DEL teams advanced.

Essentially the thing I'm trying to get at is no, the 2nd Swedish league is not even close to better than the DEL. The SHL is better but the gap is less than most North Americans seem to realize. Also I'd highly consider keeping eye on the leagues evolution because the gap will only continue to shrink with how much better their funding/facilities are than other leagues

I disagree.... although you may be right on the 2nd tier point, I was being a little glib. I’m from the UK, so my view on the DEL is based on personal experience. The DEL is poor, yes it has improved and the top teams are solid but the bottom teams are mediocre. The best players in the league are ECHL journeymen and not so good old ex NHL/AHL guys. The DEL teams have a poor record in the UK and the UK teams are horrible, really horrible but to them playing a DEL team is a big deal so they raise their games... same for the DEL teams raising their games against the SHL teams. It’s classic underdog syndrome so the Champions League is not a good yardstick for assessing team’s relative strength ... the occasional successes of UK teams proves it. It’s a good tournament though and is fun to watch.

I’ve seen plenty of DEL teams over the years and it’s way behind the SHL. Yes they have produced a handful of great prospects, but they have no depth of local talent which is why the DEL is full of imports. Exactly the same issue in the UK, but we are even further behind... Even the good teams only have a couple of good lines and then the teams quality drops off fast and the goaltending is also weak. The DEL is not in the same bracket as the SHL or Liiga.

None of that means I think Stützle etc are poor players. Clearly not and there is clearly a step that has been taken in the growth of the game in Germany. The money is there and in time the gap may well close, if the league can produce enough domestic players so they only need a handful of imports. There is clearly some very good work going on in some of the development programs also, but they just don’t have the pool of talent they need because it’s essentially a minority sport in Germany.

Anyway, my point still stand regardless of us likely agreeing to disagree on the level of the DEL. Fagemo’s numbers in the SHL are good for a player of his age and definitely show he could become a good secondary scorer for the Kings.

 

[tbrown33]

Pretty self explanatory.



Hey look, Iafallo's 27 and with a career high of 17 goals. I'm not saying he's bad by any stretch, but the fact that he's "the best player in camp" should tell you all you need to know about this team.

I mean, they said he looked the best on that particular day of camp. It tells you a lot less than what you’re making it out to be.

Also it’s like day 3 of camp with 2 weeks to go. We all know Iaffalo’s not the best player on the team lol

 

[crassbonanza]

I’ve seen plenty of DEL teams over the years and it’s way behind the SHL. Yes they have produced a handful of great prospects, but they have no depth of local talent

I think you are missing his point about the DEL growing at a rapid pace. While in the past the DEL was far behind it is quickly becoming a much better league, so discussing DEL teams from over the years kind of misses that. You can see the growth in the DEL/German hockey by looking at how well the German team just performed in the WJC. This reminds me of the people who bashed Stutzle because he played in the DEL and that league hadn't produced many players, they ignored that the league is growing. That mindset may have also led to Peterka slipping in the draft and I think a lot of teams will regret passing on him.

 

[Stimpythecat]

So it looks like PLD really wants out of columbus. Quick! Someone go and make a trade offer! /joking

Ok, I know the kings are really 2ish years off from making a deal for a player of his caliber. But how badly would it piss them off if a trade was made and then the kings went on a run like in '12 and '14.

 

[LAKings88]

How many players have wanted out of CBus now?

 

[kingsfan28]

So it looks like PLD really wants out of columbus. Quick! Someone go and make a trade offer! /joking

Ok, I know the kings are really 2ish years off from making a deal for a player of his caliber. But how badly would it piss them off if a trade was made and then the kings went on a run like in '12 and '14.

PLD?

 

[Reaper45]

PLD?

Pierre Luc Dubois.

 

[kingsfan28]

I mean the Kings biggest downfall in recent history is the fact that Carter fell off the face of the world. If he does decently then that's a big improvement for the team.

It started when he got the cut on is leg. It's just took forever to heal, similar to when Karlsson got the same kind of injury. also, having his linemates fall into scoring blackhole didn't help.

 

[Bandit]

Pierre Luc Dubois.

Paul LaDue!

 

[Stimpythecat]

there is an amusing post about it on the "when do you trade PLD" thread in the CBJ forum.

post #35.

 

[BringTheReign]

“I think I’m a much better player now than I was a year ago,” Andersson said. “I got all my confidence back that I had before and I’m a quicker player now. I make quicker decisions, and I’m a better skater. And I’ve been doing things right on and off the ice for a while now.
“I’m feeling more mature on and off the ice. It was huge for me to be back home for some time and trying to get back to where I was.
“I think I’m a better player and person now.”

He's still extremely young, just drafted in 2018. Just because he was drafted in the top 10 doesn't mean there aren't parts of his game that needed to be worked on to make it in the NHL. Hell, Yakupov was a 1st overall and we all know where he's landed.

I'm not saying he'll stick, but it's encouraging to see him address some of those issues (that he didn't even see in his game before) in the past year or two. TMac has said he has stood out in camp thus far.

[I'm a fellow Andersson optimist, I was trying to add some context to the other poster's thoughts. ]

It seems to me that the biggest positive we can offer is familiarity. Moverare, Fagemo, and Grundstrom around plus his dad being a scout. Everyone matures differently, and it seems like he's doing the right things.

 

[Johnny Utah]

Kings lined up today as such...

Iafallo - Kopitar - Brown Wagner - Lizotte - Carter Kempe - Vilardi - Frk Moore - Amadio - Luff Grundstrom - Andersson - JAD - Fagemo Maatta - Doughty Anderson - Roy MacDermid - Walker Clague - Durzi Quick / Petersen

I think we can assume that Andersson-JAD-Fagemo are going down and Grunstrom will be the extra. AA will have to take Luff or Moore's spot.

 

[Steve Zissou]

[I'm a fellow Andersson optimist, I was trying to add some context to the other poster's thoughts. ]

It seems to me that the biggest positive we can offer is familiarity. Moverare, Fagemo, and Grundstrom around plus his dad being a scout. Everyone matures differently, and it seems like he's doing the right things.

Add Kempe and Bjornfot while we are at it.

 

[Little Psycho]

there is an amusing post about it on the "when do you trade PLD" thread in the CBJ forum.

post #35.

They should call it "pulling a Carter"

 

[Yog S'loth]

Ahhh, preseason.

When everyone has put on fifteen pounds of muscle, is healthy for the first time in years, and has found new motivation and excitement for the upcoming season that they apparently lacked in every other preseason.

 

[Raccoon Jesus]

Ahhh, preseason.

When everyone has put on fifteen pounds of muscle, is healthy for the first time in years, and has found new motivation and excitement for the upcoming season that they apparently lacked in every other preseason.

You don't think this is even a little different? Nearly an entire year off?

 

[Yog S'loth]

You don't think this is even a little different? Nearly an entire year off?

As opposed to all the other teams?

All I'm saying is that Khristich, Tsyplakov, Yachmenev line has looked *really* fantastic during training camp. They've all found a lot of motivation playing with each other and they really expect to have a huge season this year.

 

[Lt Dan]

As opposed to all the other teams?

All I'm saying is that Khristich, Tsyplakov, Yachmenev line has looked *really* fantastic during training camp. They've all found a lot of motivation playing with each other and they really expect to have a huge season this year.

Say what you will about Yachmenev but he had the greatest side profile in Kings history

Part turtle, part Carebear , part stork

He was a one man animal planet

 

[BigKing]

Been worrying about what to do about watching games with DISH not carrying FSW/PRIME. I can watch on the FSW app with my parents' DTV credentials but it is a horrible experience unless watching live or once the game is put up for replay maybe an hour after it ends.

Start times announced today and I am once again reminded that I am an idiot: the new divisions mean we are basically rolling "home game" start times all year, at least during the week. I'll be home to watch live.

Now I'm very excited for the season to start.

 

[Yog S'loth]

Say what you will about Yachmenev but he had the greatest side profile in Kings history

Part turtle, part Carebear , part stork

He was a one man animal planet

I always thought he looked like Davy Jones of the Monkees.